The Brand (and Facial) That Finally Gets Gen Z Right
A game-changing dermatologist-founded brand partners with top Southampton spa.
ERLY co-founder Jamie Chandlee calls the East End home in the summers.
If you’ve scrolled TikTok lately or have a tween/teen, you’ve seen it: 12-year-olds layering serums like they’re prepping for the red carpet, and college students juggling 27 steps before bed. For Austin-based Hallie McDonald, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and co-founder of ERLY, the trend wasn’t amusing—it was alarming.
“Five or six years ago, I started seeing more and more patients, often teens, coming into my office with irritated, peeling skin,” she says. “They’d bring in bags of products and ask why their face was falling apart. Well, they were using 12 retinols at once!”
Even kids without social media weren’t immune. “Our daughters don’t have TikTok, but they still get the message that more skincare is better,” she says. “There was nothing I felt confident recommending that was both safe for all ages and something they’d actually want to use.”
That’s where ERLY was born. Co-founded with marketing and digital media pro Jamie Chandlee, the line is simple, chic, and dermatologist-approved, with just six core products (plus a fan-favorite brush for applying serums and SPF—no messy fingers!) that have a cool, content-worthy aesthetic. “It has to earn real estate on a teen’s bathroom counter,” Chandlee says. “If it’s not cute, it won’t happen.”
ERLY is free of fragrance, dyes, essential oils, petrolatum, parabens—and complicated routines.
The Facial Every Gen Z Will Want
ERLY’s mission to simplify and de-stress skincare has now inspired a new treatment with Blue Water Spa Southampton: The ERLY Glow, a facial designed for tweens, teens, and 20-somethings. The treatment, informed by Dr. McDonald and Rachel Lozina, master esthetician, founder of Blue Water Spa, and Pretty Local Advisory Board Member is fully customizable, addressing everything from first breakouts to stressed-out college skin.
“It’s not only pampering,” Dr. McDonald says. “This is a clinical treatment that can include extractions if needed, along with our serums and moisturizers that are gentle, effective, and non-irritating.”
The spa-exclusive protocol includes gentle exfoliation, cryo massage, LED light therapy, and a tailored homecare plan. It’s completely customizable, including applications of one to two ERLY serums based on skin condition:
• Daily Splash: a hydrating hyaluronic acid boost
• Daily Dew: a brightening, niacinamide-rich illuminator
• Daily Soothe: a calming serum for redness or breakouts
Paired with ERLY’s mineral SPF and peptide-packed moisturizers, the facial leaves skin glowy, calm, and selfie-ready—without the risk of overdoing it.
The ERLY Glow at Blue Water Spa (pictured above) is exclusive to the Southampton location during the summer season.
Safe, Chic, and Actually Fun
Part of ERLY’s appeal is that it works for everyone. “The products are gentle enough for tweens, but effective enough that I use them myself,” Dr. McDonald says. “You can mix and match the serums depending on your skin that day, and they play nicely with whatever else you’re using.”
The line is now stocked at Blue Water Spa Southampton alongside the facial, so you can bring that fresh, balanced glow home. “Skincare doesn’t have to be complicated—or boring,” Dr. Hallie says. “That’s what ERLY is all about.”
ERLY co-founders Jamie Chandlee (left) and Dr. Hallie McDonald (right) hosted an event with designer Katie Kime in Sagaponack.
Keep up with up the latest brand news on Instagram at @erlyskin. Book The ERLY Glow facial at Blue Water Spa.
